Romaine lettuce is a popular choice amongst the leafy green veggies that are available at your grocery store, and you might even make it a point to purchase it often to include in your meal plans. Unfortunately, a recent recall has caused the CDC to warn all Americans against eating any romaine lettuce that’s grown anywhere. Keep reading to learn more about this recall so you can protect yourself and your family.

Don’t Eat Any Romaine Lettuce

According to The Washington Post, all romaine lettuce should be avoided because of E. coli contamination.

Any lettuce that you currently own should be thrown away, whether you purchased it fresh or in a bag or container from your grocery store. Whether you purchased romaine as part of a mix of other lettuce, you got an entire head of romaine, or you purchased it pre-chopped doesn’t matter, as experts are advising that everyone get rid of it all in order to avoid the risk of getting sick from an E. coli infection.

In addition to consumers getting rid of their romaine, restaurants have also been advised that they shouldn’t be serving it. Stores should be removing it from their shelves, too, and people who see romaine in stores shouldn’t buy any, regardless of when the romaine was grown or where it came from.

Some People Have Already Fallen Ill

Recently, the CDC let everyone know that more than 30 people in 11 states got sick after consuming romaine that was contaminated with E. coli bacteria. 13 of those people even had to go to the hospital because they got so sick, and one of them ended up with a form of kidney failure. Plus, there were also 18 Canadians who got sick as well. Thankfully, no deaths have been caused by this E. coli outbreak thus far.

Experts Are Working on Figuring Out What Caused the Contamination

You might be wondering why the warnings against romaine lettuce are so far-reaching. Well, it all boils down to the fact that experts haven’t figured out where the contamination started. Because they don’t know how, when, or where the contamination occurred, they can’t tell you for sure which romaine to avoid and which is safe, so they’re telling everyone to avoid all romaine until they can get the answers that they need.

Even if you had some romaine in your home and had some without getting sick, the CDC is warning that extreme caution should be used, so you should still throw away whatever romaine is left. It’s unfortunate that so much good food needs to be wasted, but it’s better to be safe than to risk getting seriously ill.